On Locating Moon Trees

[Fish_Cheer]

(triggered by the moon golf thread)

From the “Moon Trees” page:

Apollo 14 launched in the late afternoon of January 31, 1971 on what was to be our third trip to the lunar surface. Five days later Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell walked on the Moon while Stuart Roosa, a former U.S. Forest Service smoke jumper, orbited above in the command module. Packed in small containers in Roosa’s personal kit were hundreds of tree seeds, part of a joint NASA/USFS project. Upon return to Earth, the seeds were germinated by the Forest Service. Known as the “Moon Trees”, the resulting seedlings were planted throughout the United States (often as part of the nation’s bicentennial in 1976) and the world. (…) trees were planted in Brazil, Switzerland, and presented to the Emperor of Japan, among others.

Can anybody provide additional information on that tree in Switzerland? I would love to see a Moon Tree, but will not be travelling to the United States any time soon. Are there other trees anywhere in Europe?

I e-mailed the guy at the Goddard SFC who wrote the article, and he couldn’t help me either. He mentioned that he had heard of another of these moon trees on the grounds of the Chateau Lafayette in France, though.

I know that this is very specific, but if anybody knows, you will.

[Crandolph]

There’s a “moon tree” here in Philadelphia, in Washington Square. I can assure you it’s less than thrilling. It looks like a… tree. With a plaque. Having read your post I’m even disappointed now that the seeds never even made it to the surface of the moon. This particular plaque phrases things in such a way as to suggest that the seed was on the moon and not near it.

There are revolutionary-era soldiers and debtors buried in Washington Square, so I like to believe that maybe some biological material from the bones of soldier made it into a tree grown from a seed that made it to space, ultimately meaningless but a cool curiousity. Honestly I don’t even know if people were buried near that corner of the park, but this never stops me from speculating wildly while giving a tour…

[Fish_Cheer]

One-time complimentary bump.

[A.R.Cane]

I Googled “Apollo 14 memorial trees” and came up w/ several hits including this one:
http://starryskies.com/The_sky/events/lunar-2003/moon.trees.html
They have a few locations listed, all in the U.S. Apparently there was little record keeping, which strikes me as strange.

[Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus]

That’s odd. I’m American, and I love anything to do with spaceflight, and was old enough to follow the Apollo flights very closely, but this is the first I"ve ever heard of moon trees.

[Crandolph]

@A.R. Cane

I Googled “Apollo 14 memorial trees” and came up w/ several hits including this one:
http://starryskies.com/The_sky/events/lunar-2003/moon.trees.html
They have a few locations listed, all in the U.S. Apparently there was little record keeping, which strikes me as strange.

From the link: “An obvious choice was … Independence Square.” Two strikes: it’s called Independence Mall & the tree is a block southwest in Washington Square.

[cmyk]

@Crandolph

There are revolutionary-era soldiers and debtors buried in Washington Square, so I like to believe that maybe some biological material from the bones of soldier made it into a tree grown from a seed that made it to space, ultimately meaningless but a cool curiousity. Honestly I don’t even know if people were buried near that corner of the park, but this never stops me from speculating wildly while giving a tour…

Maybe ultimately meaningless to you… until, that is, you realize that the seeds were ionized by mystical lunar rays, thereby empowering the moon trees with an untold horror! Three Words: Revolutionary War Zombies!

Only time will tell, on the 50th anniversary of that fateful orbit, who will survive the Wrath of the Moon Seeds!

[Crandolph]

@cmyk

Maybe ultimately meaningless to you… until, that is, you realize that the seeds were ionized by mystical lunar rays, thereby empowering the moon trees with an untold horror! Three Words: Revolutionary War Zombies!

Only time will tell, on the 50th anniversary of that fateful orbit, who will survive the Wrath of the Moon Seeds!

I’ll admit to very similar flights of fancy *every time * I walk by the moon tree (which the overwhelming majority of people who pass it every day don’t even notice…)!